An Ultrastable and Easily Regenerated Hydrogen‐Bonded Organic Molecular Framework with Permanent Porosity

A robust hydrogen‐bonded organic framework HOF‐TCBP (H₄TCBP=3,3′,5,5′‐tetrakis‐(4‐carboxyphenyl)‐1,1′‐biphenyl) has been successfully constructed and structurally characterized. It possesses a permanent 3D porous structure with a 5‐fold interpenetrated dia topological network. This activated HOF‐TCBP has a high BET surface area of 2066 m² g⁻¹ and is capable of highly selective adsorption and separation of light hydrocarbons under ambient conditions. It shows excellent thermal stability, as demonstrated by PXRD experiments and N₂ adsorption tests. Practical use of HOF‐TCBP is facilitated by the ease of its preparation and renewal through rotary evaporation.     

High‐Power Actuation from Molecular Photoswitches in Enantiomerically Paired Soft Springs

Motion in plants often relies on dynamic helical systems as seen in coiling tendrils, spasmoneme springs, and the opening of chiral seedpods. Developing nanotechnology that would allow molecular‐level phenomena to drive such movements in artificial systems remains a scientific challenge. Herein, we describe a soft device that uses nanoscale information to mimic seedpod opening. The system exploits a fundamental mechanism of stimuli‐responsive deformation in plants, namely that inflexible elements with specific orientations are integrated into a stimuli‐responsive matrix. The device is operated by isomerization of a light‐responsive molecular switch that drives the twisting of strips of liquid‐crystal elastomers. The strips twist in opposite directions and work against each other until the pod pops open from stress. This mechanism allows the photoisomerization of molecular switches to stimulate rapid shape changes at the macroscale and thus to maximize actuation power.     

Magnetocatalytic Graphene Quantum Dots Janus Micromotors for Bacterial Endotoxin Detection

Magnetocatalytic hybrid Janus micromotors encapsulating phenylboronic acid (PABA) modified graphene quantum dots (GQDs) are described herein as ultrafast sensors for the detection of deadly bacteria endotoxins. A bottom‐up approach was adopted to synthesize an oil‐in‐water emulsion containing the GQDs along with a high loading of platinum and iron oxide nanoparticles on one side of the Janus micromotor body. The two different “active regions” enable highly efficient propulsion in the presence of hydrogen peroxide or magnetic actuation without the addition of a chemical fuel. Fluorescence quenching was observed upon the interaction of GQDs with the target endotoxin (LPS), whereby the PABA tags acted as highly specific recognition receptors of the LPS core polysaccharide region. Such adaptive hybrid operation and highly specific detection hold considerable promise for diverse clinical, agrofood, and biological applications and integration in future lab‐on‐chip technology.     

Polynitro‐Functionalized Dipyrazolo‐1,3,5‐triazinanes: Energetic Polycyclization toward High Density and Excellent Molecular Stability

A new fused N‐heterocyclic framework, dipyrazolo‐1,3,5‐triazinane, was synthesized and the physiochemical properties of its derivatives were investigated to evaluate the integrated energetic performance. In contrast to 1,3,5‐trinitro‐1,3,5‐triazinane (RDX) featuring a distorted chair confirmation, polynitro‐functionalized dipyrazolo‐1,3,5‐triazinanes have nearly planar backbones, thereby enhancing the density and thermal stability. Among these new energetic tricyclic compounds, 5 a and 12 show favorable crystal densities of 1.937 g cm⁻³ and 1.990 g cm⁻³ at 150 K, respectively, which rank highest in triazinane‐based energetic compounds. Additionally, this synthetic approach was carried out to form seven‐membered and eight‐membered rings, giving rise to tetranitro dipyrazolo‐1,3,5‐triazepane ( 5 b ) and tetranitro dipyrazolo‐1,3,5‐triazocane ( 5 c ), respectively.     

Mass Production and Pore Size Control of Holey Carbon Microcages

Architectural control of porous solids, such as porous carbon cages, has received considerable attention for versatile applications because of their ability to interact with liquids and gases not only at the surface, but throughout the bulk. Herein we report a scalable, facile spray‐pyrolysis route to synthesize holey carbon microcages with mosquito‐net‐like shells. Using the surfaces of water droplets as the growth templates, styrene–butadiene rubber macromolecules are controllably cross‐linked, and size‐controllable holes on the carbon shells are generated. The as‐formed carbon microcages encapsulating Si nanoparticles exhibit enhanced lithium‐storage performances for lithium‐ion batteries. The scalable, inexpensive synthesis of porous carbon microcages with controlled porosity and the demonstration of outstanding electrochemical properties are expected to extend their uses in energy storage, molecular sieves, catalysis, adsorbents, water/air filters, and biomedical engineering.     

Mesoporous Carbon@Titanium Nitride Hollow Spheres as an Efficient SeS2 Host for Advanced Li–SeS2 Batteries

The introduction of a certain proportion of selenium into sulfur‐based cathodes is an effective strategy for enhancing the integrated battery performance. However, similar to sulfur, selenium sulfide cathodes suffer from poor cycling stability owing to the dissolution of reaction intermediate products. In this study, to exploit the advantages of SeS₂ to the full and avoid its shortcomings, we designed and synthesized a hollow mesoporous carbon@titanium nitride (HMC@TiN) host for loading 70 wt % of SeS₂ as a cathode material for Li–SeS₂ batteries. Benefiting from both physical and chemical entrapment by hollow mesoporous carbon and TiN, the HMC@TiN/SeS₂ cathode manifests high utilization of the active material and excellent cycling stability. Moreover, it exhibits promising areal capacity (up to 4 mAh cm⁻²) with stable cell performance in the high‐mass‐loading electrode.